new to beeat Making and sampling.. MPD or MPC?

[Basque]

so Im looking to start making my own beats.. problem is, ive never really done any sort of production before, Im just a DJ.

Right now the two alternatives im considering iare the akai mpd 26 or the mpc 1000 or 500.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each and which is best? I currently have logic pro 9 and abelton live on my macbook, but i would have no idea how to record, cut up and assign samples on my macbook (i briefly owned an mpc2000xl, but it was a bit much).

What are peoples thoughts?

[JasonBay]

Get a Maschine instead, will make life much easier then trying to learn an MPC or trying to figure out how get the most out of the MPD. (And if you're getting the 26, might as well get the 32 and do it right).

[Basque]

the only thing that has put me off is the price difference.. mpd 26 or 32 is cheapest, then the mpc 500 or even 1000, then a maschine. Im looking at buying all these second hand, i never really buy kit new

[Basque]

what software and stuff would i have to use for cutting up samples and the like with a maschine?

[JasonBay]

Maschine comes with a 4GB sample library already preloaded, organized and ready to go.

[JasonBay]

I'm sure some one else can will go into more details, but Maschine really is all you need to start making music off the bat. It's almost a whole DAW in and of itself just on the hardware. Sure it's a bit more expensive than the other two you mentioned, but it really is an investment. You won't regret picking one up.

[TreTuna]

Maschine is really the best way like Jason said....

It comes with a great sound library
Integrates perfectly with Komplete and all VSTs for great synths and effects
Allows you to cut up any sample you want from nearly any source giving you unlimited sounds
May require a computer but you can do everything from the controller and never have to look over once you get used to it
Is very intuitive and easy to learn to use
A great studio and live controller/program
Can be midi mapped as well to any other software, including Ableton and Traktor
Integrates really well with both of them as well
A lot easier to take with you then an MPC
Umm.... That's just the advantages I can think of off the top of my head.

It may be a little more money, but will last you longer in the long run as it's power is still being developed. You buy and MPC, it's never going to be upgraded; you buy the Ableton controllers, and though they can be reprogrammed, they are only the slaves of the program; you get the Maschine and you get the controller for Ableton/Traktor, plus an amazing software that gives it all the power of an MPC plus a lot more. As I said, the software is just beginning it's development really, only in version 1.7 right now, and already come a long way. Not to mention it's used and endorsed by some of the biggest names in the game.

Trust me you won't be disappointed with your decision. I definitely haven't been in mine.

[Basque]

looks like ill probably get a maschine then.. Its a shame its so ugly (in my opinion). Im not really for all this modernised sleek looking stuff, which is why i love the MPC1000 but thats not really enough to justify buying one over the maschine aha.

[TreTuna]

Oh! Another option is waiting for the new MPC Studio or Renaissance. Basically Akai's direct competitors to Maschine. Studio is supposed to be about the same price while the Renaissance is twice the price. Studio looks really cool, http://www.akaiprompc.com/mpc-studio

[mostapha]

[Maschine requires] a computer but you can do everything from the controller and never have to look over once you get used to it

That's not entirely correct. I've owned one for a while (~ a year) and use it almost every day…and there are still a handful of things that are either faster on the computer or not possible with just the hardware. For a lot of things, though, yeah…the hardware is awesome.

The things I have to do with a mouse don't bother me much with Maschine, and I'm about to start buying hardware synths because I hate software so much…so that is saying something.

A lot easier to take with you then an MPC

I'm not convinced. You still need a laptop. The MPC500 runs off batteries and is smaller…so technically it's easier to carry. But I see where you're going. It is certainly a lot easier to record off Maschine than an MPC because it gives you more outs (if you actually want to record) or lets you bounce stems.

Oh! Another option is waiting for the new MPC Studio or Renaissance. Basically Akai's direct competitors to Maschine. Studio is supposed to be about the same price while the Renaissance is twice the price. Studio looks really cool, http://www.akaiprompc.com/mpc-studio

That might be worth doing…but they won't be available used, and the MPC Renaissance costs twice what Maschine does (new).

I really love my Maschine, and if you want to get into that workflow, it's very hard to beat at the moment. There's almost no doubt in my mind the MPC Renaissance will be better…but it's also a lot more expensive. MPC Studio vs. Maschine……that one will be a lot closer. Based on the hardware, I think maschine wins over the MPC Studio. But we'll see how they work in practice. I'm very open to the idea of upgrading to a Renaissance.

Now…all that being said, I've also seriously considered buying an MPC1000. First, the not-upgradable thing is crap. There are aftermarket OSes for it (JJ OS, for example) that are still being developed. Second, there's something cool about hardware and not staring at a computer screen. Third, if you have a good MIDI interface, you can still use soft synths with it. And considering that none of them really offer enough power in the mixing stage to completely finish a track, you're going to need a DAW anyway (or some other recorder) which means that you'll probably have a chance to host soft synths (if that's where you want to go).

The biggest shortcoming of the MPC-1000, as far as I can see, is the tremendous lack of knobs. The MPC5000 is the only one that competes with Maschine in that regard, though without controlling synths from it, you could probably get away with what the MPC1000 offers.